There's $32trn of them: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BOGZ1FL594090005Q
replyWho do you think is buying .. everything? They're holding substantial fractions of both the whole stockmarket and national debt.
I do not know anyone other than teachers, cops, or firemen that have pensions and all of those are grossly underfunded (see city of Chicago).
replyNow... if you mean IRAs then yeah... that's 99% of all private "investors"
The pension plans for many government employees still exist. CalPERS (California Public Employees' Retirement System), Illinois Teachers Pension, etc. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_pension_scheme...)
replyIt's the corporate businesses that have gotten rid of pensions in favor of 401k plans.
Many government employees have pensions. Most of the ones I know are also ... skeptical of the future solvency of those funds by the time they retire.
replyMost (if not all) gov't pensions still have the defined benefit part as the "optimal" choice even when they offer defined contribution plans.
replyThey can also offer some really nice benefits like accessing your pension income at 55 which can be a substantial portion of your last year's salary, and you can keep working elsewhere if you want.